A computer used for DTP displays an electronic document of a selected size as an editing form on the screen of a CRT display device. Usually, reference lines are set in this electronic document, and these comprise a plurality of horizontal lines and a plurality of vertical lines known as a grid. Then a page structural element known as an object is formed on the screen or introduced from outside and arranged in the electronic document. An object usually comprises a frame demarcating its region and data contents such as graphics or text set inside that frame.
Precise arrangement of these types of objects in an electronic document is important in DTP. When a pointing device, such as a mouse, is used, a cursor on the screen is positioned on the object. The pointing device's button is clicked, thus holding (selecting) the object, and the mouse is operated and the object is moved with the cursor and can be moved to the desired location in the electronic document. In addition, it is also possible to move an object to the desired location by inputting the object's X and Y coordinates using a keyboard. Furthermore, the grid is provided with attraction points (known as snap points) at intersections, and the object too is provided with a plurality of attraction points. Therefore, for example, when an object is moved near the desired location by the pointing device, some of the object's attraction points are attracted to the grid's attraction points (a process known as snapping), whereby the object becomes precisely coordinated with the grid. That is, by using attraction technology it is not necessary to precisely match the object to the grid to the very end by manual operation; rather, simply by moving the object near the desired location, the object is attracted and automatically coordinates with the grid and is positioned.
This sort of attraction technology is extremely useful in layout editing for precisely positioning objects in an electronic document using a grid. Nevertheless, ordinary objects are provided with a plurality of attraction points, and particularly when the grid spacing is small relative to the size of the object, there are instances when the object's attraction points and the grid's attraction points frequently attract and the operation of positioning the object becomes complicated and imprecise. In addition, depending on the object's configuration (for example, a grid set as a manuscript writing form), the object has a plurality of attraction points so the operation of positioning it may become difficult.